Kael woke up. The stone was piercing his back like teeths biting. His shoulders ached, his legs were stiff, and when he tried to turn, the rock scraped his skin through the thin fabric of his clothes. There was no blanket. No pillow. Just the cave ceiling above him—uneven, jagged, distant—and the low echo of movement somewhere deeper inside the Den.
No one had come to wake him.
That realization settled in slower than the pain.
Kael pushed himself up, palms slipping against the stone before finding balance. Around him, the Den was already awake. Men walked past without looking at him. Some were stretching. Some were already sparring. Others stood still, backs straight, eyes forward, as if waiting for something invisible to speak to them.
Kael swung his legs off the stone slab and stood.
The blood rushed too fast.
He staggered, caught himself against the wall, teeth clenched. A few heads turned—not with concern, but calculation. One of them smirked faintly. Another looked away immediately, as if Kael's weakness was contagious.
"Don't fall," a voice said flatly.
Kael turned.
Arthur stood a short distance away, arms folded, expression unchanged. His gaze wasn't sharp—it was dull in a way that made it worse.
"No one told you to stand," Arthur continued. "But no one told you to stay down either."
Kael straightened instinctively.
Arthur's eyes flicked to Kael's posture. "Good. You can follow basic sense. That puts you ahead of two who arrived last month."
Kael opened his mouth.
Arthur raised a finger.
"Don't."
Kael shut it.
Arthur stepped closer, boots crunching softly against stone. "Rules still apply. No questions. No resting unless told. Speak only when spoken to."
He leaned in just enough for his voice to drop. "And don't assume silence means safety."
Arthur stepped back and turned away, already done with him.
Kael exhaled slowly.
A sharp whistle echoed through the cave.
Men began moving toward an open space carved into the rock—wide, uneven, marked with grooves and cracks that looked older than the Den itself. Kael followed the flow, careful not to bump into anyone. No one acknowledged him.
They formed a loose line.
Arthur stood at the front. Behind him, several figures watched from higher ledges—faces half-hidden by shadow, arms crossed, still as statues.
"Listen," Arthur said. "You don't get names today. You don't give them either. Rank matters more than identity here."
A man beside Kael shifted his weight.
Arthur's gaze snapped to him. "Stillness."
The man froze.
Arthur continued. "You are trainees. That is all. Squardrons exist above you. Squad captains above them.Commander Brutus above all."
Someone at the far end muttered, barely audible, "And gods above command."
Arthur didn't look in that direction. "Funny. You'll like humor. It doesn't last long here."
A few quiet breaths passed.
The roar of the waterfall swallowed the chamber long before Kael reached it.
Stone walls narrowed into a tall, vertical cut in the cave, where water fell in a relentless column from somewhere far above. It didn't splash—it *punched* the ground, sending mist outward like breath from something alive.
Arthur stopped walking.
"Here," he said.
Kael blinked. "Here…?"
Arthur turned, eyes sharp and assessing, like Kael was an object placed incorrectly in a room. "Stand under it."
Kael followed Arthur's gaze.
The trainees were already there—men and women of different builds, some standing rigid beneath the water, others just stepping out, faces pale but controlled. No one spoke. No one laughed.
Kael's stomach tightened.
"For how long?" Kael asked.
Arthur didn't answer immediately. He took a step closer, lowering his voice—not kindly, but deliberately. "Until I tell you to leave."
Kael nodded, throat dry. "Yes, sir."
Arthur's lips twitched, almost amused. "Don't call me that."
Kael hesitated. "Then…?"
"Follow orders," Arthur said. "Nothing else is required."
He stepped aside.
Kael walked forward.
The closer he got, the colder the air became. Mist clung to his clothes, soaked into his hair. His fingers already felt stiff.
Behind him, someone muttered, "First timers always look like that."
Kael turned instinctively—but Arthur's gaze snapped to the speaker.
Silence returned instantly.
Kael swallowed and stepped under the fall.
The water hit him like a hammer.
All at once, his breath vanished. The cold wasn't just temperature—it was pressure, crushing his shoulders, driving down his spine, forcing his knees to bend. His teeth slammed together involuntarily.
"Don't crouch," Arthur's voice cut through the roar. "Stand."
Kael tried.
His legs trembled violently. Every muscle screamed *wrong*, *wrong*, *wrong*. His arms hugged his sides without permission. His vision blurred at the edges.
"I—" Kael gasped, then coughed as water splashed into his mouth.
"Pathetic," Arthur said calmly. "You lasted three seconds."
Kael's knees gave out.
He collapsed forward, palms slamming against wet stone as he dragged himself out of the stream, lungs burning. He sucked in air desperately, chest heaving, throat raw. He was unconsciously the next momnet
Someone nearby snorted.
"Drag him out, he'll die" Arthur said.
Kael woke up
Arthur didn't move. "This is what you chose," he said. "No one dragged you here."
Kael pressed his forehead to the stone, shaking.
Then another voice broke in.
"Hey. That's enough."
Arthur's eyes flicked sideways.
Arian stepped forward, wooden training blade resting against his shoulder. He looked Kael's age—maybe a year older—but there was something settled about him, like he'd learned when not to speak and was choosing to now.
Arthur's voice hardened. "Return to your drill."
"I will," Arian said. "Give me a minute."
Arthur stared at him.
The cave seemed to hold its breath.
Finally, Arthur turned away. "One minute," he said. "Not more."
Arian crouched beside Kael.
"Breathe," Arian said quietly. "Slow."
Kael shook his head weakly. "I—can't—feel—my legs."
"That's normal," Arian replied. "First time always feels like you're dying."
Kael laughed hoarsely. "That's… comforting."
Arian smiled faintly. "You hunch when the water hits. Don't."
Kael looked up at him. "It feels like it's crushing me."
"It is," Arian said. "So don't fight it. Let it pass through you."
Kael frowned. "That makes no sense."
Arian tapped Kael's chest lightly. "Neither does panic. But your body listens to it anyway."
Kael stared at the water again.
Arian continued, "Lock your core. Straighten your spine. If you curl, it breaks you faster."
Kael hesitated. "What if I fall again?"
"Then you fall," Arian said simply. "And you stand back up."
Something about the way he said it—no judgment, no pity—hit Kael unexpectedly.
It reminded him of Edward.
Edward, standing beside him after scrapes and stupid mistakes. Edward, never mocking, never pushing too hard. Just… there.
"You sound like someone I know," Kael muttered.
Arian raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
"My friend," Kael said. "He used to drag me into trouble and then tell me it was fine while we were getting yelled at."
Arian chuckled softly. "Sounds like a good friend."
"He was," Kael said, then corrected himself quietly. "Is."
Arian stood and offered a hand.
Kael took it.
"Ready?" Arian asked.
Kael nodded, though fear coiled tight in his chest.
He stepped back under the fall.
The cold slammed into him again—but this time, he didn't curl. He forced his shoulders back, jaw clenched, legs locked despite the violent shaking.
"Normal",he told himself.
"Just water."
His breath came shallow, controlled.
Seconds dragged.
Arthur watched from the edge, expression unreadable.
Kael's arms trembled violently. His mind screamed to escape. His body begged him to collapse.
Then Arian's voice cut through the roar. "Good. Stay."
Kael focused on that voice.
On the idea that someone was watching—not waiting for him to fail, but expecting him to hold.
His breathing slowed.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Finally, Arthur raised a hand. "Out."
Kael stumbled back, nearly collapsing—but Arian caught his elbow.
Arthur studied Kael for a long moment.
"You lasted longer," Arthur said. "Barely acceptable."
He turned away.
No praise.
But Kael noticed something else.
Arthur hadn't called him pathetic this time.
As Arian let go, Kael exhaled shakily. "Thanks."
Arian shrugged. "You didn't quit. That's on you."
Kael looked back at the waterfall—still terrifying, still brutal.
But no longer impossible.